Rains in Punjab bring relief from dust, pollution

Rains in Punjab bring relief from dust, pollution.Chandigarh and its nearby areas in Punjab and Haryana were lashed by rains, bringing much relief from a thick haze of dust and pollution that enveloped the region for the past two days, the weather office said on Saturday.The weather turned pleasant and the visibility cleared following the overnight rainfall, which lasted for around two hours. However, the sky remained overcast with chances of more showers later in the day. In the past two days, Chandigarh and surrounding areas witnessed a dusty weather throughout the day with poor visibility that led to grounding of 27 of the 30 flights from here. The local meteorological office said the city experienced 21.6 mm of rain till 8.30 a.m. on Saturday and the minimum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh saw the highest ever concentration of PM2.5, a fine pollutant that can reach the lungs directly. A Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee observatory measured PM2.5 at 572 microgram per cubic metre of air on an average on Friday morning. On Thursday, it was 360 microgram per cubic metre. The normal value of PM2.5 is 60 microgram per cubic metre for a 24-hour period. Experts at the observatory said it was the highest ever in the city. –IANS